1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lane keep control apparatus and method for an automotive vehicle which are capable of preventing a deviation of the vehicle from a traveling traffic lane on which the vehicle is traveling when the vehicle is about to deviate from the traffic lane during a travel.
2. Description of the Related Art
A Japanese Patent Application First Publication No. Heisei 11-180327 published on Jul. 6, 1999 exemplifies a previously proposed lane keep control apparatus. In the previously proposed lane keep control apparatus, a steering actuator is controlled in accordance with a lateral deviation quantity which is a distance from a reference position of the traffic lane on which the vehicle is traveling to a traveling position of the vehicle (the vehicle is also hereinafter called a host vehicle), for example, when the host vehicle has a tendency of deviating from the traffic lane so as to prevent the deviation of the host vehicle from the traffic lane.